Not Dead Enough

cocktail with a sprig of mint in it.
    ‘Very pleased to make your acquaintance, gentlemen. Have a seat. Can I get you a drink? I can recommend the Mojitos, they’re excellent.’ He waved a hand to summon a waiter.
    ‘I’m driving – I’ll have a Diet Coke,’ Branson said.
    ‘The same,’ Grace said, although, still faced with the nightmare of the drive back with Branson, he could have used a pint of single malt. ‘We’ll pay for these, sir. It’s very good of you to see us at such short notice,’ Grace began.
    ‘It’s not a problem. How can I help you?’
    ‘Can I ask you how long you have known Brian Bishop?’ Branson said, putting his pad down on the table.
    Grace watched the movement of the man’s eyes, as he thought.
    ‘About six years – yes – almost exactly six years.’
    Branson noted this down.
    ‘Am I under caution?’ Phil Taylor asked, only half in jest.
    ‘No,’ Branson replied. ‘We’re just here to try to confirm some times with you.’
    ‘I gave them to one of your officers already. What exactly is the problem? Is Brian in trouble?’
    ‘We’d rather not say too much at the moment,’ Grace replied.
    ‘How did you meet him?’ Branson asked.
    ‘At a P1 meeting.’
    ‘P1?’
    ‘It’s a club for petrol heads that Damon Hill – the racing driver – former world champion – runs. You pay an annual subscription and get the use of various sports cars. We met at one of their cocktail parties.’
    Eyeing the key fob, Glenn Branson asked, ‘Is that your Ferrari, around the corner in Arlington Street?’
    ‘The 430? Yes – but that’s my own car.’
    ‘Nice,’ Branson said. ‘Nice motor.’
    ‘Be even nicer without all your damned speed cameras!’
    ‘Can you give us a little bit of background about yourself, Mr Taylor?’ Grace asked, not rising to the bait.
    ‘Me? I qualified as a chartered accountant, then I spent fifteen years with the Inland Revenue, most of it on their Special Investigations team. Looking into tax abuse scams, mostly. Through it I saw how much money the IFA community – the Independent Financial Advisers – made. I decided that’s what I should be doing. So I set up Taylor Financial Planning. Never looked back. Wasn’t long after I started that I met Brian. He became one of my first clients.’
    ‘How would you describe Mr Bishop?’ Branson asked.
    ‘How would I describe him? He’s a top man. One of the best.’ He thought for some moments. ‘Absolute integrity, smart, reliable, efficient.’
    ‘Did you ever arrange any life insurance for him?’
    ‘We’re getting into an area of client confidentiality, gentlemen.’
    ‘I understand,’ Grace said. ‘There is one question I would like to ask, and if you don’t want to answer it, that is fine. Did you ever arrange a life insurance policy on Brian Bishop’s wife?’
    ‘I can answer that with a categorical no.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘Is it correct, Mr Taylor, that you and Mr Bishop had dinner here, in this restaurant, last week on Thursday 3 August?’ Grace continued.
    ‘Yes, we did.’ His demeanour had become a little defensive now.
    ‘This a regular haunt of yours?’ Branson asked.
    ‘It is. I like to meet clients here.’
    ‘Can you remember what time, approximately, you left the restaurant?’
    ‘I can do better than that,’ Phil Taylor said, a little smugly. Fishing his wallet from his jacket, which was lying beside him on the bench seat, he rummaged inside and pulled out a credit card receipt from the restaurant.
    Grace looked at it. Bishop hadn’t been lying, he thought, when he saw the items of drink that the two men had consumed. Two Mojito cocktails. Two bottles of wine. Four brandies. ‘Looks like you had a good evening!’ he said. He also privately noted that the prices were no higher than decent Brighton restaurants. He could afford to bring Cleo here. She would love it.
    ‘Aye, we did.’
    Grace did a mental calculation. Assuming both men drank more or less equally, Bishop would have been way over the drink-drive limit when he left the restaurant. Could the drink have brought on a rage about his wife’s infidelity? And given him the courage to drive recklessly?
    Then, studying the receipt carefully, he found towards the top right what he was looking for. TIME 22.54.
    ‘How did Brian Bishop seem to you last Thursday evening?’ Grace asked Phil Taylor.
    ‘He was in a great mood. Very cheerful. Good company. He had a golf match in Brighton next